A Very Brooklyn House Christmas
by MuseGirltheauthor
Summary: Oneshot. Zia has never really celebrated the holidays before. Maybe Brooklyn House can help ease her into it.


** This oneshot... SMH. I wrote this all today, so pardon me if it sucks beyond compare. Oh well. I don't own this series because Rick does and I am not Rick.\**

**Though, I will dedicate this to all my friends from the Zarter forum (I'mDifferent-GetOverIt, AnimalCharmer11, booksonclouds, FlameTamer16, HyperAndProudOfIt, gingerroot15, IceBreaker14, The Girl With Black Wings, etc people I didn't name.) and all the people who read my fics/read TKC fics. For the sake of the holiday season of course.**

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><p>Christmas time around Brooklyn House was interesting for lack of a better word. The forty trainees that lived there since the war with Apophis finished were all bustling around in preparation for the season. Groups of the trainees were assigned different tasks. In the Great Room stood a Christmas tree was being decorated with multiple colored ornaments and lights by some. There was even a menorah the Jewish trainees had set up for Hanukkah. Some might ask why they didn't just celebrate on the five extra days of the year because of their roots, but they all grew up with little traditions like Christmas that they like to keep close to heart. A couple of girls were stringing up popcorn while a boy added a wreath to a door.<p>

Though, the holidays weren't times of good cheer for everyone. Take for example Zia Rashid. She never really celebrated holidays like Easter, Halloween, or especially Christmas. December 25 was just another day of the year for her. But Carter Kane however, wanted to help her get into the holiday spirit and give her the gift he had worked hard to give her. It was an opportunity for a time to relax from the past few months of battle to her in the non-celebrating sense.

While the other trainees were preparing for the holiday season, Zia was on the balcony looking up at the stars. The night was mostly clear, making the few visible stars in the sky visible. Zia was thankful for moments alone like this because they gave her time to think. Her mind drifted off to the image of the stars. While the others were busy with the holidays, she wanted to take advantage of her break from her duties at the First Nome and her business at Brooklyn House. She rarely had this time. She was almost lost in thought when someone tapped on her shoulder.

She turned around to find Carter Kane standing above her. Carter shifted awkwardly. "Hey Zia."

"Hello Carter," she greeted him. "What brings you out here? I thought you helping the others with the decorations?"

He shifted his position again. "I was wondering why you weren't inside with us."

"I was thinking," she stated simply.

"Oh, well…"

"Well what?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Something definitely seemed off about Carter that day.

"I just wondered if you wanted to come back inside. You know, have some fun?" He suggested, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Have some fun?" She questioned curiously.

"It's Christmas time so yeah…" Carter hoped she would come with him.

"I am fine out here. You should probably go rejoin the others though." She returned to looking at the sky.

"Zia," he sighed, "Please come inside."

"Why do you want me to come inside?" She asked, turning back around.

"I just think that you shouldn't be alone on Christmas. It is the season for being around friends."

"Carter-" He cut her off.

"Please, just for a little while?" Carter pleaded.

Zia sighed. "Fine, but only for a short time." He offered her a hand. She passed, getting up by herself. "Come on then," she said walking towards the door.

Carter followed in pursuit. "Jaz, Walt, Alyssa, and Sean were about to hang up the rest of the decorations. Do you want to help?"

Zia bit her lip in thought. "I suppose I could."

Carter grinned. "Great. The ornament box is on that couch next to the tree."

Zia approached the tree. She remembered seeing these often when she was tracking the Kanes around in December. "Hey Zia, can you hand me one of those red ornaments?" Jaz drawled from the top of a ladder. Zia reached to grab the red decoration and handed it to her. "Thanks. Hey, did Carter convince you to come join the fun?"

"I guess you could consider it that way," Zia said.

Sean laughed. "I hope that someone remembered to put up that mistletoe for Carter." Jaz rolled her eyes and 'accidently' dropped an ornament on his head.

"Oops, I really should be more careful," the blonde apologized in a non-sincere tone. Zia cracked a bit of a smile.

"Zia, can you pass Walt and I a couple of blue ones," Alyssa called from the back of the tree.

Zia took a few more ornaments out and gave them to Alyssa. This cycle repeated for a short time until the tree was completely finished. "Doesn't it look good?" Walt asked.

Jaz smiled. "Yes, it does," she replied after grabbing his hand.

"I'm just glad we finished in time for presents," Julian commented from the right side of the tree.

Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Only you would say that Julian." He replied with a laugh.

"Hey Zia, are you going to stay for presents?" Felix asked. "Because I think I may be able to summon another penguin for you."

Jaz gave Felix a stern look. "Really Felix, really?"

Felix smiled sheepishly. "Everyone likes penguins, right?"

"Sadie," Jaz started to call before Felix sprinted away to probably dispose of the evidence of his rule breaking.

Walt shook his head laughing. "Once Carter and Sadie get down, we'll start the exchange," he told Zia.

"Exchange?"

"You know when we give each other our presents…?"

"I know that. I just don't have one to give."

"It doesn't mean you can't still hang out with the rest of us," he said. "And plus Carter said he got you something."

"Really?" Zia asked. To prove Walt's point, Carter came down with a box.

"Hey Zia, are you sticking around for the gift exchange?" Carter asked.

"I guess if you don't mind me not having anything to exchange."

Carter cracked a smile. "It's no problem Zia. Now come on. The others are by the main couch."

The next twenty five minutes were spent passing wrapped gifts back and forth. Walt had given Jaz a blue amulet while he got from her a healing charm. Alyssa chased Julian around the Great Room for giving her a package full of rubber spiders. 'It was funny!' 'I'll show you funny Julian!' Felix accidently let his penguin for Cleo loose. It took Cleo using Ha-Di and a restrained Felix to corral it back into his dorm. Sean was distributing gifts for the others with a multi-hand charm he read about. It may have been a little more violent than he wanted, but it was certainly effective.

Zia found herself smiling widely. Though these were indeed a strange group of trainees, they were a family. It was, for lack of a better word, heartwarming. Then a gift appeared in front of her. _To Zia, From Carter. Merry Christmas._ She opened the package to find a photo album. Inside were all the pictures from her old shrine, one of Iskandar, and at the end of it a note. _We managed to recover some of the shrine and other pictures from the battle wreckage of the First Nome. Uncle Amos let me give them to you. I hope you like it. -Carter. _Zia scanned the crowd for Carter.

Carter caught her eye and gave her a warm smile. Zia returned it. "Looks like she liked the pictures Chicken Boy," Sadie commented with her new Adele CD.

"Shut it, Sadie," Carter said, rolling his eyes.

Sadie smirked. "You know, we didn't hang any mistletoe so don't get any-"

"Sadie!" Carter's face turned red.

_Yes, the Twenty-First Nome is definitely a heartwarming family_, Zia thought to herself, chuckling.

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><p><strong>Cheesiness for the win? For the fail like Mason is? I'll let you all decide. Happy Holidays all.<strong>


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